So sue the battery company, which is strangely not called out in the article.
Seriously... so if I install a new car battery from Autozone for my Ford and it explodes, I can sue Ford?
Yes you can if there is a fault so that the battery gets over charged. If a voltage regulator goes phut, there is a good likelyhood that the battery will go bang sometime later. I've had this happen on my Motorcycle many years ago.
They clearly state that the batteries are what exploded. In which case, I agree - Apple has nothing to do with this. And it has nothing to do with "approved" brands. Most batteries - even no-name ones - don't explode. The fact that these did means that they were manufactured very poorly.
They are the ones who need to be sued, but (as another reader pointed out) it may be impossible if they are a fly-by-night operation in a foreign country.
Did they stop selling those for their keyboard and trackpad? Note those are AA, so they won't work in these headphones.
Yes they did...you can still get them at some places like Staples, but not directly from Apple. I believe they're basically rebranded Eneloops. Pretty good batteries. I have 2 sets of them.
Did they stop selling those for their keyboard and trackpad? Note those are AA, so they won't work in these headphones.
Yes they did...you can still get them at some places like Staples, but not directly from Apple. I believe they're basically rebranded Eneloops. Pretty good batteries. I have 2 sets of them.
I had their batteries and charger when I had an iMac, but I sold it with the Mac. I now use Eneloop, but it's not pretty since there are several generations so the cost varies from the older and newer generation, and frankly I'm not sure if it's really worth getting the new gen.
While I'm totally on Apple's side on this, I'm curious what Apple's recommendation would have been. If Apple is blaming 3rd-party batteries, does Apple provide Apple-branded AAA batteries?
This is the problem with mixing and matching stuff. I would not hesitate to buy a pack of batteries from Duracell, Energizer, or Enloops to use in my electronics. And if they explode, I certainly would not be blaming Apple for it. I wonder if her lawyers went after the battery manufacturer or just decided that suing Apple is an easier (although highly unsuccessful) 3rd party.
Can trust anything from anyone anymore.
Apple does not and should not recommend a manufacturer. They're only saying the investigation pointed to batteries that were not supplied with the device.
2) Has anyone else jumped from disposable batteries to only using Eneloop (or similar rechargeable batteries) for all their needs. I only need AA, AAA, and a few 9-Volts these days. They last considerably longer than disposable batteries and my math says it'll reduce both my cost and waste.
Your math is correct. I've transitioned from disposable to NiMH and Lithium Ion for all my AA, AAA and 9volt needs (18650 too). It's great, buy them once and that's it for the next 5-10 years. One does have to keep a few chargers around, but that beats throwing away 50-100 batteries a year.
2) Has anyone else jumped from disposable batteries to only using Eneloop (or similar rechargeable batteries) for all their needs. I only need AA, AAA, and a few 9-Volts these days. They last considerably longer than disposable batteries and my math says it'll reduce both my cost and waste.
I went 100% Eneloop about three years ago. My wife likes those flickering "candles" that work on a 24-hour cycle, and eat batteries regularly; so I bought enough to keep about half a set aside in rotation.
The chargers and batteries are great, I would never go back to disposables for any device. Shelf life and and available power exceed brand-name alkalines. Definitely worth the initial expense (Costco has good deals in-store regularly).
Having said that, the Eneloop C- and D-adapters can be a little fussy... a seasonal toy that needed C's was a tighter fit than "normal" C batteries.
1) To me, the title and article make it sound like Apple is blaming the customer on having used 3rd-party batteries at all, but that's silly since Apple doesn't make AAA.
2) Has anyone else jumped from disposable batteries to only using Eneloop (or similar rechargeable batteries) for all their needs. I only need AA, AAA, and a few 9-Volts these days. They last considerably longer than disposable batteries and my math says it'll reduce both my cost and waste.
Haven't bought alkalines in many years. People don't get that even aside from recharging they (or at least used to) last a helluva lot longer.
While I'm totally on Apple's side on this, I'm curious what Apple's recommendation would have been. If Apple is blaming 3rd-party batteries, does Apple provide Apple-branded AAA batteries?
This is the problem with mixing and matching stuff. I would not hesitate to buy a pack of batteries from Duracell, Energizer, or Enloops to use in my electronics. And if they explode, I certainly would not be blaming Apple for it. I wonder if her lawyers went after the battery manufacturer or just decided that suing Apple is an easier (although highly unsuccessful) 3rd party.
Can trust anything from anyone anymore.
Not blaming the use of 3rd-party batteries, but these particular batteries. Who knows what they were.
Headline is inaccurate. The headphones did not explode. The batteries did.
The headline may be technically inaccurate but I think it is nevertheless fine. Headlines need to be compact and sometimes you need to cut things out. This would possibly be better:
"Apple blames Beats headphones battery explosion on third-party batteries"
While being more accurate it raises other issues like repetition and redundancy.
It's also true that headlines grab your attention so this:
"Apple blames Beats headphones incident on third-party batteries"
Turns out to be less attention grabbing and too vague.
I think that the title looks, fits and feels better just as it is even if the reader has to interpret it.
A similar thing happens with 'LCD Displays'. No one bats an eyelid at that.
oas far as i know almost all products that take regular batteries are designed to work with either non rechargeable or rechargeable batteries knowing that there is a difference in voltage (1.5v vs 1.2v) and certainly if you put the wrong ones in worst case is just doesn't work... so apple is being ridiculous if it is saying that she should not have used 3rd party batteries... you don't want people to use non apple batteries then like my camera use a different shape or like why iPhone don't allow battery change. if you design your headphones to support standard shape then assume people will use standard batteries of that specification. now, that said, the question is whether the battery blew up due to a headset problem or a battery problem, either is possible, and apple and the battery manufacturer should work together to figure out which...
1) To me, the title and article make it sound like Apple is blaming the customer on having used 3rd-party batteries at all, but that's silly since Apple doesn't make AAA.
2) Has anyone else jumped from disposable batteries to only using Eneloop (or similar rechargeable batteries) for all their needs. I only need AA, AAA, and a few 9-Volts these days. They last considerably longer than disposable batteries and my math says it'll reduce both my cost and waste.
I only use rechargeable batteries, everybody should!
Comments
They clearly state that the batteries are what exploded. In which case, I agree - Apple has nothing to do with this. And it has nothing to do with "approved" brands. Most batteries - even no-name ones - don't explode. The fact that these did means that they were manufactured very poorly.
They are the ones who need to be sued, but (as another reader pointed out) it may be impossible if they are a fly-by-night operation in a foreign country.
I've transitioned from disposable to NiMH and Lithium Ion for all my AA, AAA and 9volt needs (18650 too).
It's great, buy them once and that's it for the next 5-10 years. One does have to keep a few chargers around, but that beats throwing away 50-100 batteries a year.
The chargers and batteries are great, I would never go back to disposables for any device. Shelf life and and available power exceed brand-name alkalines. Definitely worth the initial expense (Costco has good deals in-store regularly).
Having said that, the Eneloop C- and D-adapters can be a little fussy... a seasonal toy that needed C's was a tighter fit than "normal" C batteries.
"Apple blames Beats headphones battery explosion on third-party batteries"
While being more accurate it raises other issues like repetition and redundancy.
It's also true that headlines grab your attention so this:
"Apple blames Beats headphones incident on third-party batteries"
Turns out to be less attention grabbing and too vague.
I think that the title looks, fits and feels better just as it is even if the reader has to interpret it.
A similar thing happens with 'LCD Displays'. No one bats an eyelid at that.